Sikhism·Opening Banis·Sohila, Shabad 5
Verse 4 of 5

Purchase What You Actually Came Here For

ਜਾ ਕਉ ਆਏ ਸੋਈ ਬਿਹਾਝਹੁ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਰ ਤੇ ਮਨਹਿ ਬਸੇਰਾ ॥
jaa ka-o aa-ay so-ee bihaajhahu har gur tay maneh basayraa.
Purchase only that for which you have come into the world, and through the Guru, the Lord shall dwell within your mind.
ਨਿਜ ਘਰਿ ਮਹਲੁ ਪਾਵਹੁ ਸੁਖ ਸਹਜੇ ਬਹੁਰਿ ਨ ਹੋਇਗੋ ਫੇਰਾ ॥੩॥
nij ghar mahal paavhu sukh sehjay bahur na ho-igo fayraa. ||3||
Within the home of your own inner being, you shall obtain the Mansion of the Lord's Presence with intuitive ease. You shall not be consigned again to the wheel of reincarnation. ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Purchase the one thing you actually came into this world to get. That is what the Guru plants in your mind.

Within the home of your own inner being, you will find the Mansion of the Lord — not through traveling to any holy place, but within. You will not be pulled through the cycle again.

You came here for one thing — and the place where you find it is inside the home you already live in.
The deeper layer

The market metaphor is perfect for the modern world: everyone is buying something. The question is whether you are purchasing what you came here for or spending your limited currency on something that will dissolve.

"Within the home of your own inner being" — the place where the oneness lives is not a temple, not a mountain, not a pilgrimage site. It is the interior of your own awareness, already here, already available. You do not need to go anywhere.

A Question to Sit With

If someone asked you: 'What did you come into this life to get?' — what would you say? And how much of your time and energy goes toward that, compared to everything else?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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